Final year students have a different study load from students at previous levels. At this stage students must complete the final project. Students are required to conduct research in accordance with the field of science they take. Completion of the final project is a prerequisite for obtaining a degree at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The demand to immediately complete the final project and other demands often make students face various pressures or stresses. Several studies have found that this condition causes individuals to be physically and mentally depressed which in turn affects their psychological well-being. Research conducted by Mazo (2015) on students in Philippines found that the final project is a source of stress for students. Kessler et al (2007) found that students are the group that has the highest risk of experiencing stress and mental health problems. Bad mental conditions will affect the psychological well-being of individuals.
Several studies have found that individuals will be fully functioning with social support. According to Cohen and Syme 1985 in Zimet (1988) social support is one positive factor that can help as a means of maintaining mental health. Social support is a medium for increasing self-esteem and positive feelings so that individuals can cope with the pressure they experience. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between social support and psychological well-being in final year students.
This research involved 156 final year students of Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR). The research method used in this research is quantitative research. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. Participants involved in this study consisted of 125 (80.12%) female students and 31 (19.88%) male students. Based on age, participants in this study were between 18-25 years old. The largest age group was subjects aged 22 years, with 58 students or 37.1% of the total population. The second largest age group was the 21 year old subjects with 48 students or 30.7% and the last was the 23 year old group with 19 students or 12.1%.
Based on the results of data analysis using the Pearson Product Moment correlation technique, it shows that social support is related to the psychological well-being of migrant students of Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) with a correlation value of 0.76. This suggests that social support is related to psychological well-being. Thus, social support will be directly proportional to the psychological well-being of students at the final year. In other words, students who receive great social support will have high psychological well-being. A positive relationship between social support and psychological well-being was also found in migrant students studying at Faculty of Psychology, Soegijapranata University.
Although the results of data analysis show a positive relationship between social support and psychological well-being, the relationship tends to be weak. This occurs due to several other variables that affect the relationship between social support and psychological well-being such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, personality, life experience, cultural background, and the ability to control oneself. The results of this research indicate that social support is proven to be one of the factors affecting the psychological well-being of final year students, so the family environment and educational institutions should provide social support, especially for final year students so that they have good psychological well-being. Social support that can be provided by the family include fulfillment of life needs and emotional support. Meanwhile, educational institutions can provide social support in the form of providing services or facilities that can help final grade students complete their studies and counseling services to overcome psychological problems.
Author: Listyati Setyo Palupi, S.Psi. M. DevPract
Details of the research can be viewed here:
Muji R. Saputra, S. Psi & Listyati Setyo Palupi, S.Psi., M. DevPract (2020). Relationship Between Social Support and Psychological Well Being of the Final Year Students. E3S Web Conf. 202 12027 (2020). DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202020212027.
